sql

This is one of the best books that I've bought recently. I've been a programmer for 4 years, but I just recently started working with relational databases, specifically Oracle. This book is clear, concise, and very accessible. The writing style is very engaging, too. The author manages to present the material in a way that keeps your interest without sacraficing quality. Consequently, the book is fast to read, but of great value.

The chapter on using SQL*Plus is of great value. It helped me to more effective look at what is in our databases to get a feel for the results from the programs that I was testing.

After reading this book I felt like the author gave a solid overview of the PL/SQL language without being overly rigorous. If you are looking for an academic treatment with lots of theory, this is not the place. Those books are very import to broaden your understanding, but this book bridges the gap to make the advance texts accessible.

This is the place for Oracle beginners to get their hands dirty. There are plenty of examples that run throughout the book to demonstrate the concepts. As you work with PL/SQL and SQL*Plus, you will find yourself referring back to this book often as you come up to speed. It is definitely worth the money and the time.

This is the best introduction I've seen to PL/SQL programming. The book takes its "101" moniker seriously - it doesn't assume anything, but explains fully everything you need to know to learn how to program in PL/SQL. Since PL/SQL relies on a fundamental knowledge of SQL, the book invests a good deal of time covering the database concepts, SQL concepts, and SQL commands necessary to write good PL/SQL code. Bravo! That's why this deserves to have "101" in its title.

Those who already have some SQL knowledge would do well to read over these SQL chapters anyway - the book really pulls things together, filling in the gaps that often come with self-teaching. It also has great examples for some of the more obscure features of SQL and PL/SQL.

Perhaps the author can be persuaded to do a "PL/SQL 201" book - I would buy it.

Don't buy from him! He doesn't even have the merchandise he says he has! Go to some one else! Don't risk it. Amazon shouldn't let people like this on their site.